fearful
Word family
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++fear·ful /ˈfɪəfəl $ ˈfɪr-/ ●○○ adjective 1 formalFRIGHTENED frightened that something bad might happen 担心的，害怕的 a shy and fearful child 一个羞涩、胆怯的小孩fearful of People are fearful of rising crime in the area. 人们担心这个地区犯罪率上升。fearful that Officials are fearful that the demonstrations will cause new violence. 官员们担心示威游行会引发新的暴力事件。► see thesaurus at frightened2 British EnglishBAD extremely bad 极坏的 SYN awful, terrible The room was in a fearful mess. 房间里一片狼藉。3 [only before noun] writtenFRIGHTENED very frightening 骇人的 SYN terrifying a fearful creature 一种骇人的生物 —fearfulness noun [uncountable]Examples from the Corpus
fearful• She looked red-eyed and white-faced, slightly fearful and anxious.• The old ones, fearful and suspicious, jealous even, were attempting to stifle young love.• a fearful noise• The 1989 Home Office report found that victims of burglary become more fearful of street crime as well.• My father had the most fearful temper that shot up in seconds.• The more we try to control nature, the more fearful we are that nature will answer our interference with violence.fearful that• We were fearful that a halt or a delay would result in other unfortunate occurrences in the Soviet Union.• He paused at the intersection, fearful that a hard leather boot was waiting for him no matter which way he ran.• I stood in the hallway, fearful that Meir Ahronson would ask me for an account of how I had fared.• Perhaps they have been fearful that supporting lesbian colleagues would mean they too would have to come out.• Brandon Thomas opted to unveil his Aunt away from London fearful that the capital's theatre critics would tear it to pieces.• Undoubtedly, they were fearful that the scouting report just might come to life.• Others may be fearful that they will not be able to cope without the support and guidance of the therapist.fear·ful adjectiveChineseSyllable
Corpus bad frightened happen might that something
fearful
fear‧ful /ˈfɪəfəl $ ˈfɪr-/
adjective
a shy and fearful child
fearful of
People are fearful of rising crime in the area.
fearful that
Officials are fearful that the demonstrations will cause new violence.
2. British English extremely bad
SYN awful, terrible:
The room was in a fearful mess.
3. [only before noun] written very frightening
SYN terrifying:
a fearful creature
—fearfulness noun [uncountable]
▪ frightened feeling worried because you might get hurt or because something bad might happen: I was too frightened to say anything. | Many animals are frightened of fireworks. | Frightened residents called the police as the gang started throwing bricks.
▪scared [not before noun] especially spoken frightened. Scared is less formal than frightened and is the usual word to use in everyday English: I’m scared of dogs. | Old people are too scared to go out of their homes.
▪afraid [not before noun] frightened. Afraid sounds more formal than frightened or scared: Children are often afraid of the dark. | I was afraid that I might say the wrong thing.
▪alarmed frightened and worried that something bad might happen: She was alarmed at the thought of performing in front of an audience. | Alarmed passengers spotted fuel leaking from the plane.
▪fearful formal frightened that something bad might happen: They are fearful of another terrorist attack. | He was fearful that he might make another mistake. | a fearful panic
fear‧ful /ˈfɪəfəl $ ˈfɪr-/
adjective Word Family: noun: fear, fearfulness ≠ fearlessness; adjective: fearful ≠ fearless, fearsome; verb: fear; adverb: fearfully ≠ fearlessly
1. formal frightened that something bad might happen: fearful of
fearful that
2. British English extremely bad
SYN awful, terrible:
3. [only before noun] written very frightening
SYN terrifying:
—fearfulness noun [uncountable]
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